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Michael Jordan buys Bobcats


monsoon

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The Charlotte Bobcats have announced that Michael Jordan will be purchasing part of the team. Jordan has been interested in a team in Charlotte for a long time having once been in talks in Shinn in buying part of the Hornets. Shinn rebuffed Jordan and instead joined forces with that siding contractor from Atlanta.

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Great news.....but I hope he lets Mike become the "face" of the Bobcats. Wow...they sure do have the Chapel Hill theme going on there.

I guess the next logical question is, Where will Jordan buy his uptown condo? 210 Trade or The Vue?

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Bob Johnson fumbled the ball at the beginning but I think he's understanding the mindset in regards to the bitter taste Shinn left in the area. Yea, it's a marketing ploy, but a good one.

I know a lot you guys aren't fans of the arena or the Bobcats. Even if you don't like the NBA, I would challenge each NC/SC forumer to attend ONE game next year or ONE arena related event (be adventureous and attend a CIAA game :) ). Then, base your decision (pro or con) from that perspective. There are many mid-size cities (e.g., Oklahoma City, Norfolk, Louisville, etc.) that could only hope to accomplish what Charlotte is doing.

IMO, 25 to 30 yrs from now, the only sports related venue that will be located in the 277 loop will be the arena. As parking lots are absorbed and real estate becomes scarce in the uptown area, both baseball and football stadiums will be located on the outskirts or near the uptown area as in many cities.

The arena will probably stay put as it can host additional events other than basketball year round (think Madison Square Garden in NYC).

MLB will probably be located near Southend or Midtown (close to a LRT or Trolley line). An ideal place for a new football stadium would be near the I-85/I-77 interchange. They need to put something out there and a football stadium would be ideal in a addition to corporate park with mid-rises without obscuring the view of uptown from the interstate.

The idea of Charlotte needing sports venues to increase foot traffic will be removed with the growing uptown population, parks, museums and the NHOF.

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It seems like it's taking a while for the ground level street facing retail to open. There's even a "back for lease" sign in the window that was slated to be Red's BBQ.

I wonder what the chilling effect is... high rent for the arena? The pending opening of EpiCentre?

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In addition to Shin's bad legacy left here Johnson has to fight what seems to be a regular problem that new teams face. That being the lack of a legacy or history and a lack of an emotional connection because of that. When people talk about the NBA in Charlotte they always talk about the state's great Basketball Legacy and how NC couldn't be without an NBA team. However NC resident

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Actually, that MJ statement, I believe is from the 2003 almost-got-Michael. If you google phrases from it, you can see that it had been most recently cached on google a week ago. It is definitely not a hot off the presses recantation of the headline they plastered on the frontpage of their website.

I think MJ is definitely in.

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That doesn't make sense as, per Bob Johnson's statements, he mentioned Ed Tapscott will remain as the overseer of the operations. Ed has already resigned with the Bobcats last week, so how could this news be true. Plus, it's all over ESPN, Charlotte.com, Sportsline.com that M.J. already made it official. Something is quite fishy with that link, as there are certainly definite inconsistencies in that statement supposed made by B.J.

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That is an old message from Bobby J. That was from when the bobcats were first materializing as a franchise. Bob Johnson (BJ) and Michael Jordan (MJ) have always been good friends, BJ is from DC and MJ was in DC with the wizards and they became friends. From the start, BJ wanted MJ to become a minority owner, but MJ decided no because he wanted to be a majority owner, apparently nobody wanted to sell their team. So MJ, as a result, decided it was a perfect opportunity for him to become an NBA owner. GO BOBCATS, hopefully this will get some more support from the fanworthy people of charlotte, who just can't stop whining about the arena. And I say fanworthy because they have supported the hornets (20 win seasons and all) and the panthers (1 win seasons and all) for many a year and even the checkers, at least of late.

On a serious note about the arena tho, its a large building, and its not going away for at least 25 years so get over it and just walk inside look up and see its greatness and its glory. I'm a fan of sports and I'm a fan of charlotte, and there is no better opportunity for exposure in this world than through hollywood and pro sports, because the flicker box (TV) is the only thing people pay attention to these days. The arena still has the potential a year or so into its operation to be the center of a huge entertainment district that will stretch from epicenter to the arena and beyond, well at least as long as we can figure out some way to better incorporate the transit center amongst the other street level activity.

PS. So is it still Bobcats, or should we call it mikecats

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It wouldn't hurt the NBA to remove the old statements or at least put a date on them!

YAY for Micheal Jordan signing up! I think it is a huge boon for Charlotte. A lot of eyes will be turned this way with this news -- I saw it first late night last night on the national news. I think a lot more fans will get behind the Cats. I say all this and I don't even like NBA basketball, but i appreciate the fans, the activity downtown, and the added facet to the city.

Thanks MIKE!

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I guess this is good for the city in general, but I hope its more of a marketing ploy/investment and Jordan doesn't make any basketball decisions or become too involved with the team. He was a terrible GM for Washington and had a poor relationship with the young talent there. Great basketball players do not always make good executives (see Isiah Thomas in New York).

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yea, oops, I guess it's not true then.. sorry about that, I found that link after googling in 'Michael Jordan, Charlotte Bobcats'.. why would they put that there on that site?? hmm.

I agree, we should call them the "MikeCats" haha

Heck, screw the cats theme altogether. How bout the Charlotte Jordans?

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Michael jordan agrees to become part owner of the bobcats. do you think this alone will have at least a slight impact on ticket sales when the news gets out (at least in the beginning)?

None. Season ticket sales dropped from the first year to the second year even after signing Felton and May who were on the UNC National Championship team. The only way ticket sales will increase is by putting a better product on the floor.

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None. Season ticket sales dropped from the first year to the second year even after signing Felton and May who were on the UNC National Championship team. The only way ticket sales will increase is by putting a better product on the floor.

also, if our team starts winning a whole lot more..and key players all return healthy. If 'cats reach the finals.. who knows... a lot may happen

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Hopefully, MJ will be the next step into getting a coach with Carolina ties, like Larry Brown or George Karl. Getting Larry Brown, for example, would bring a championship coach back to the Tar Heel state.

I think it is fair to have an average coach take you through the awkward expansion years, but hopefully after year 3 they can pursue a heavy hitting coach that knows how to win.

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I think Bikerstaff is doing a good job. He has the players giving a great effort on the court and the ones who are not get cut (Kareem Rush). However, it sounds like his plan is to step down after this season and just be the GM. I would like to see them bring in Paul Silas for the next coach. I felt he did a great job last time he was here with the Hornets. Do we really need more Tarheel ties with this team?

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